Chloe Grace Moretz Opens Up About Being Fat Shamed by a Male Co-Star

Chloe Grace Moretz is the latest young actress to speak out about facing sexism in Hollywood. For this week’s Power of Young Hollywood issue, the 20-year-old “Kick-Ass” star tells Variety that she was once fat-shamed by one of her male co-stars on the set of a movie.

“This guy that was my love interest was like, ‘I’d never date you in a real life,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, you’re too big for me’ — as in my size,” Moretz shares with Variety in an interview for her cover story for our annual Young Hollywood issue.

“It was one of the only actors that ever made me cry on set,” she recalls, opting not to reveal the identity of the actor, only saying that he was “23, 24 or 25” and she was 15 years old at the time.

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“I went bawling to my brother and he was like, ‘What happened?’ And I was like, ‘He told me I was too big.’ And my brother was like, ‘What just happened?’ My brother was so angry,” says Moretz, who is extremely close with her four older brothers. “I had to pick it up and go back on set and pretend he was a love interest, and it was really hard…It just makes you realize that there are some really bad people out there and for some reason, he felt the need to say that to me. You have to kind of forgive and not forget really, but it was just like wow. It was jarring. I look back on it and I was 15, which is really, really dark.”

The fat-shaming incident is only one of many times Moretz has found herself in a sexist situation with one of her male co-stars. On another project, a different male love interest made up lies about Moretz to try to boost his own reputation in the eyes of film’s director, Moretz shares — again not identifying the actor in question.

“I’ve had a younger male lead ostracize me and bring up fake issues just to try and put me in my place, and make things up to the director…things that are crazy, things that I would never do, unprofessional things that would make no sense,” Moretz says. “I’ve had an actor do that to me. It’s crazy. They have this inferiority issue, and I’m like, ‘You are completely equal to me, you are no different than me. I just happen to be the lead in this movie, and I don’t know why just because you are kind of the smaller character that you’re pushing me into a corner to try and put me down. Little snips that just put you down.”

When asked if she’s aware of any projects where she was paid less than her male co-star, Moretz does not offer a specific story, but rather speaks on the larger issue of gender inequality in Hollywood. “Even if you’re being paid equally, it’s the little things, especially if the male lead is bigger than you — you aren’t listened to as much and you take a back seat.”

Despite her 50 credits, Moretz admits she still has to fight to get parts. In fact, as a former child star, Moretz says she sometimes has to work harder to prove herself. “Now it’s, ‘Oh, you’re too known, your face is in too many things.’ And I’m like, well, if I were unknown, then I would not be known enough,” she scoffs of the uphill battle she constantly fights in the industry.

Recently, Moretz was not considered for a role simply because of the color of her hair. “I was told I was too blond and they couldn’t cast two blond girls in the same movie,” she says of a recent project for which she was not offered an audition. “I was like, ‘Okay, because I’m blond and there’s another blond in the movie, you can’t cast two?’ That’s such a masculine way of looking at things.”

“I deal with it every day,” she adds. “You’ve got to stick to your guns. I always say get me in the room and make me audition and I’ll try and win it and at least I’ll know then that I did my best and I gave my all, but if you just look at me and you say no, then I don’t know what to tell you. But you know, when one door closes, another one opens and that’s the way it is so don’t fight it. I never try and push myself on someone who doesn’t want me for the role.”

“I’ve seen a massive shift just in terms of how many female filmmakers have been working recently,” she says, noting Desiree Ahkavan, who directed her in the upcoming film “The Miseducation of Cameron Post.” “We’re making big steps, but it’s a long way. We’re nowhere near the top. We’re just catching up. We have a long way to go.”

I have always liked Chloe but I fail to see how this is fat shaming. Everyone has certain qualities they look for in someone they might be romantically interested in. Not everyone meets someone else’s standards in this regard, and people should be okay with that. Telling her that she was “too big” for him is no different than saying she was too blonde for him, or too young for him, or too anything else for him. He didn’t call her fat, he just pointed out some quality she possessed in the way he viewed her that didn’t meet his own standards. It was about what he liked and didn’t like, and only went as far as that. And for all anyone knows, he could have said that not because he meant it, but because he was trying to dissuade a 15 year old girl from becoming romantically attached to him.

Mel, you aren’t really my type, I prefer intelligent people. It is just my preference after all, but you are “too dumb” for me. It’s no different than saying you are “too blonde” for me right? I am not calling you stupid per say, I just prefer people of at least average intelligence, someone who doesn’t go online and make fools of themselves. Of course maybe I don’t mean that you are actually mentally challenged, maybe I am using it as an excuse because you are a child I don’t want to date. That makes it much better.

Actually, you are calling me dumb through your elaborations. And this is what you apparently don’t get, which is too bad because you are using that in an attempt to be a bully instead of bothering to examine the true point I was trying to make.

1) We don’t know why the person made the comment that she was “too big” for him, and context matters. Did he just say that out of the blue or was she perhaps trying to find out what he liked and didn’t like in a romantic interest, which is possible given that she states she was interested in him that way.

2) Saying that someone is “too big” isn’t the same as calling them fat, anymore than saying someone is “too skinny” is calling them anorexic. There are lots of things between being of a medium weight and being fat. Let me use an analogy. If someone gave you a pair of shoes that was one size larger than your size, then the shoes would be too big, but being one size larger doesn’t make them huge.

3) He didn’t say she was “too big”, period. According to her account he said she was “too big” for him. And taken that way it says something about his preferences and nothing more. It doesn’t say she was fat or unattractive, or unlikable, or anything. As far as we know, he could have liked really thin girls, and then any girl of an average build would not be to his tastes. She wouldn’t have to be fat to not make his grade, she just has to be not what he wants. And people want different qualities in their romantic interests, so what is “too this” or “too that” to one person might be “just right” to another. So again, it was about his preference and that alone.

4) She says that his “too big” for me comment was about her weight or size. but at that time and for a long time before, she was a mega-star. And maybe the “too big” for me comment actually referred to her being “too big” in the entertainment industry, and he didn’t want to deal with someone of that stature.

5) She was 15 and he was in his 20’s. He likely knew she had a crush on him and, even if he liked her, also knew there could not be a romantic interest between them. If so, then he might have been trying to shut that down and didn’t take the best approach to doing so.

6) It is amazing how many girls/women blame others for fat shaming them through some vague comment like the one Chloe states here, when it is themselves who are the ones who are fat shaming themselves. It is more than obvious Chloe felt she was overweight at the time and latched onto this “too big” for me comment to verify her insecurity. It’s like the old “Does this dress make my butt look big?” question women ask when they are insecure about how they look, and then look for any reason to take the response given to them as reason to be insecure. Maybe they should stop obsessing about the way they look and blaming others unnecessarily when they insist on taking a comment given the wrong way.

My comments in no way bully, I was not intelligence shaming you, I was merely pointing out that you are “too dumb” for me. I hope I didn’t verify your intelligence insecurity. Your true point is that no matter what is said, it can be explained away by an apologist somewhere on the internet, I knew that already.

1. You don’t know why I made the comments about your intelligence, you have no context as to why I would think you are less than average intelligence. Did I say it out of the blue or am I trying to figure out if there is any romantic interest here?

2. Someone who is “to dumb” is not the same as calling the stupid. There are many levels of intelligence between smart and stupid. Let me use an analogy, you apply to law school but don’t pass the entrance exam, you may not be stupid, just not smart enough to be a lawyer.

3. I never said you were “too dumb”, just “too dumb” for me. I like people of average to above average intelligence, someone like I said who won’t go on the internet and make a fool out of them selves. You don’t have to be stupid to not make my grade, just too dumb for me. Some people like dumber people, some people like smarter people, it is just persona preference.

4. I said you were “too dumb” but maybe I wasn’t even referring to your intelligence. Maybe you don’t speak well enough or don’t speak at all. You have no idea what I meant by “too dumb” do you? Maybe I just don’t want to date someone who can’t speak.

The rest of your comments are as useless as the first four so I will stop there. It takes a special kind of person to defend and unknown person on the internet by giving examples of how a 15 year old girl could have not understand the conversation she was having. Mind you she was the one having the conversation, she is the one who knows who she was talking to. She is the one who has all the context of the conversation, but you go online and defend the unknown male costar and make up stories in your head about how it wasn’t actually fat shaming. Like I said, I prefer someone who doesn’t make a fool of them selves online.

Firstly, your retorts are akin to someone saying “I know you are but what am I”. You simply take parts of remarks I have made and use the words “too dumb” in place of “too big”, twisting them enough to make a bad and, presumably what you consider to be a biting comparison in some adolescent effort to put me in my supposed place. This isn’t clever because it doesn’t make any valid point on your part and amounts to little more than taunting, which I will give credit enough intellectually to be aware that is what you are actually doing.

Secondly, we come to the meaning of words. “Big” is a relative term and is dependent on the individual’s perspective. To a toddler, a basketball is likely to be considered “big” to them, while to an adult it usually isn’t. “Big”, “small”, “hot”, “cold”, “soft”, “hard” are examples of terms that are relative, and therefore fluid. If you didn’t get that from the story of Goldilocks, then you missed something. “Big” also doesn’t exclusively mean “fat” when used to describe a person. In fact, much of the time it doesn’t mean that. “Dumb”, however, when applied to intelligence and not to the ability to speak (I refer you to the old phrase “deaf and dumb”) means stupid. It is a concise term, not a relative one. Saying that someone is “dumb” is saying that they are stupid. There are no two ways around that. Even if this weren’t true, then “average intelligence” is a quantifiable term in itself, By saying you prefer someone of at least average intelligence, then you are stating in no uncertain terms what you mean by “dumb”. It is to this that I was referring to when I stated at the onset that you were calling me dumb through your elaborations.

Thirdly, it doesn’t matter that Chloe was there having the conversation. That doesn’t mean she didn’t misinterpret anything about it. She is human afterall. And people do allow their emotions at times to dictate how they view a situation, as well as being limited by their own experiences. Ask any police officer to give you an honest answer and they will tell you that, when questioning individuals about a certain situation they all were part of (either party to or a witness of), each person will have a different interpretation of events.

Fourthly, I never implied in any way I was at all interested in you. Your meanderings about this and your other goings on I mentioned and your (purposeful?) misuse of basic English give your replies a nonsensical quality.

The other things I mentioned do matter. People who are insecure about their weight will a lot of the time belittle themselves about their weight. And, because of their insecurity, will many times think someone is making fun of their weight when they aren’t. The person reinforces their insecurity this way and, in this way are shaming themselves for being what they feel is “fat”. I was with a couple of friends some time ago. One of them thought of themselves as being fat. I had a large container of yogurt with me and the other friend looked at it and said to me, “What do you call that? Tub O’ Yogurt?”. The friend who was insecure about their weight only heard “tubbo” and thought they were being made fun of, when they weren’t. They were letting their insecurities shame themselves about their weight, and then trying to find reinforcement in innocent remarks made by others. Too many girls/women do this type of thing, where they shame themselves about the way that they look, and then build upon their insecurity by looking for things they think are shaming them. I am saying that they should stop doing that, to stop being their own enemy. It is bad enough when someone is making a remark that cannot be mistaken for anything other than malice. People don’t need to add to any hurt they may feel by looking for malice in some remark that may not malicious.

Why so much bitterness, resentment, and hate for someone simply sharing their experiences? Being nice or even remotely civil doesn’t cost anything– most of you people need an attitude adjustment. If you don’t like this article or Chloe Moretz, why did you even bother to read it? smh

I wouldn’t date her because she’s a flaming ditz. “And I was like….And my brother was like…..So he was like….It was like…” She sounds as if she’s 12 years old. That would get annoying as hell in about 15 minutes.

The two blondes comment was obviously a director’s or producer’s clumsy way of saying, “We don’t want you…” She really should watch Tootsie..there’s a whole sequence on rejection.

I assumed from her description as a staring role, it’s If I Stay. I can’t think of many older films where she was the star. The wide age range for the costar I think was to muddy the waters on identity….but yes..she’s probably not Emancipated, so older guys dating her would be out anyway

And anyone making the stupid comments that hasn’t worked at all with actors doesn’t realize how fragile they can be…it can be an emotional rollercoaster for some…others can just turn it on and off. And women can dish it out, too. Diana Ring ate garlic before her kissing scenes with George Lazenby…maybe if the guy was serious, Chloe could have done the same…but obviously she’s more mature than most of the posters here give her credit for, the ones that demand the names so they can vilify the actor online.

Yes, Just reading the article she sounds like a know it all punk.
According to many theory of acting (classes) that attitude would severely limit the type of roles. Or something like that. So I’ve been told. It’s difficult to describe.

Note that she won’t name the actor because she puts career opportunism ahead of any concern she has for harassment…typical of the entertainment and media business. They always have stories but can never name the person responsible for the slight…

Actually, her not naming the actors who bothered her onset is professional behavior, and to be commended. But way to blame her for trying to rise above their shi**y behavior, and describe the incidents like a mature adult.

I like Ms. Moretz as an actress & I find her distinct looks attractive.

But her examples of ‘abuse’ by male co-workers are a little unfair IMO…

If her co-actor said to her, that he wouldn’t date her in real life, it’s not helpful for acting in a scene,
but I’m not sure why she reacted in such an extreme way…maybe it was just a fun comment by the
guy to ‘break the ice’ a little bit before they had to pretend to be lovers ?
Ms. Moretz reacted like it was a CRIME to say such a thing to her.
Cool down, Chloe.

And this kind of reasoning shows that Ms. Moretz maybe doesn’t really understand the director’s job:
“I was like, ‘Okay, because I’m blond and there’s another blond in the movie, you can’t cast two?’ That’s such a masculine way of looking at things.”

No, it’s not a “masculine way” to say such a thing.
The hair color of an actor can be important.
When all the main actors are blond, it’s harder for an audience to identify each,
especially if they are not well-known.
Of course it’s a very glib superficial reason, but it’s sound.
I have no idea, why Ms. Moretz thinks, that this has to be a specific MALE problem?

Last but not least, I’m a little bit disturbed that she only remembers male co-workers as problematic.
Were all the girls she ever met on sets like angels ?
I doubt it.

I met some females in the film industry who are manipulative, mean and narcissistic monsters.
They are ‘acting’ basically the whole day and some would do anything for success.

I think it’s good, that young actresses speak up and tell it like it is, but Ms. Moretz exaggerates and
only paints men as the problem, which is hardly the truth.

“And he was like…” “And I was like…” “And then he was like…” “And I’m like…”
I MIGHT take her more seriously if she learned how to talk. Except that she’d still be acting like a baby and complaining about nothing.

You’re actually admitting as a grown man that you read this article and cared enough to comment about her grammar. She won’t even read the damned thing; you think she gives a damn about a 40 year old with male-pattern baldness that reads Variety? haha

Maybe by big, he meant as in her status. Maybe he said it because he knew how weird it was for him to be 25 and her 15 and didn’t want her to think him a pedo right before they had to kiss and just said something really stupid.

The reason why one star is “bigger” than another is because of box office draw, not sexism. I suspect Angelina Jolie is a bigger star than Chloe Grace Moretz as well, and not because of sexism. A director is generally right to put more consideration to the words of the bigger box office draw as far as production needs are concerned. I’m not at all saying there is no sexism, nor am I insulting Chloe Grace Moretz in any way. To the contrary, even if she’s wrong, she’s bringing up issues that need to be talked about, not silenced. Hollywood needs to pay attention to her talent and her words; she simply needs to find more than the sexism card to play. It’s much more likely that she was taken less seriously because she was a kid. I have seen several of her performances and never been disappointed, and I am looking forward to seeing more.

There’s always the possibility it was a production that never got released but otherwise the actor is most likely Aaron Taylor. Moretz was 15 when Kick-Ass 2 was filmed. While Aaron Taylor was only 22 it’s apparent from her interview that she couldn’t nail down the actor’s actual age and Aaron is the only actor she worked with while 15 where the actor played her love interest. and was in his early twenties and the movie actually got released.

I highly doubt it was him. 1) they were not set up as love interests, they were not set up to be dating so why would he even say (i wouldn’t date you in real life) 2) He does not strike me as the kind of guy to say that especially with a baby on the way with his wife. She does however go on a date with a guy in Kick Ass 2 who it could possibly be.

Chloe only filmed a couple movies when she was 15. And she stated that the actor played a love interest in the movie with her and that his age was around 23-25. So it does narrow it down a bit. She only filmed Kick-Ass 2 and Carrie at 15. She acted with Ansel Elgort in Carrie and despite his character taking her to the prom, he was not the love interest. Plus he was around 17-18 at the time so it’s definitely not him. So, it leaves us with Kick-Ass 2. Aaron Taylor and McLovin don’t play her love interests plus they’re friends with Chloe, so it’s not them. But in the movie, there’s a jock character named Simon that takes Hit-Girl out on a date, but it wasn’t a genuine date, it turns out to be a cruel high school prank. The actor who played him is Aaron’s age (would have been 22 in the film) and his name is Wesley Morgan. Most likely it was him. Perhaps he wasn’t genuinely mocking Chloe’s weight. Perhaps this actor is really method. He has to be dick to Chloe in the movie so he acts like a dick to her in real life– method acting. Or perhaps, she misinterpreted the comment. Perhaps he meant she was too big for him meaning she was too famous for a no-name like him to date. The guy didn’t go on to any real fame. Or if the insult was genuine, perhaps he felt he could get away with being a dick to a marginally famous teen actress. I mean, come on, there’s still many, many people who don’t know who Chloe is. Her movies are mostly bombs. She’s not Taylor Swift famous after all. But this is Hollywood, you need to develop a thick hide or you’ll never make it.

If that’s the case it makes me think she misunderstood what he meant by big again. I have never seen Chloe be fat, and she never was. he probably meant in star status. like he was threatened by her. But that’s another sexist issue to tackle, men not being able to be inferior to women.

I don’t think it’s the guy from Kick Ass. I’ve seen tons of interviews with them doing promo for the movie and they have this whole brother and sister vibe going on. You can tell they genuinely like each other. They kid around a lot and are very funny together. No way it’s him. She actually filmed a few movies while she was 15 and they may not be well known and could’ve been released at a later time. Also Aaron wasn’t a love interest in the movie. Probably some young actor no one’s ever heard of. That’s why she felt safe calling him out in the interview.

All of them were very small, insignificant actors in my opinion. This girl is beautiful inside and out. The outside beauty is evident just by looking at her. The inside beauty shows in how she chooses not to reveal the identities of these creeps. Personally, I’d love to know so I could protest their movies.

Well there are not many options to figure out who it could be. She was 15 when this happened and she is 20 today, so that would mean the movie was filming in 2012. Her IMDB doesn’t list a whole lot around that year meaning it could be Kick Ass 2 or Carrie or Movie 43. In Carrie Ansel Elgort played her date to the prom, he’s born in 1994 making him 18 so that’s not him. In Kick Ass 2 Aaron Taylor Johnson (born in 1990) would have been 22 so that’s a little closer. Finally Movie 43, Jimmy Bennett plays her boyfriend but he’s born in 1996 so that can’t be him.

After some research and math my co-worker and I have concluded that our prime suspect is Rory Culkin who was a small fling in their film HIck.Other actors were either too young or too old.Considering the possible ages the youngest he could be today is 28 and the oldest is 30.There are three possible ages considering she named three age numbers.

I believe it was Blakely also. “If I Stay” was released in 2014, production probably started around 2011/2012. CGM was born in 1997 leaving her 15 at the time of production and Blakely would of been 21/22 and they was both in an onscreen relationship.

instead of telling her “I’d never go out with you because of your size”, he SHOULD have been kind and say “I’d never go out with you because I’m 25, you’re 15, and that would be a creepy thing for me to do.”

Whatever happened to shrugging off things and getting on with life? I wonder how many of these young women would make it through the day if faced with true adversity. Just tell him to stick it where the sun don’t shine.

You all have such know it all comments, as if you’re experts at life. No one cares about how you handle things in whatever Wendy’s drive through you’re working in, folks.

This is a film set she’s talking about, where everyone is expected to be professional, and where your emotions have to be accessible all the time. Totally different than handing someone a cart when they walk into Wal-mart, or whatever it is that all of you dreary complainers do for a living.